A Chance at a Family
by Lilac Demetrius
Summary: Nico and Will meet a little boy named Owen who needs a family after his grandfather dies. Solangelo fluffiness.


I was three years old when my father was murdered in front of me.

I don't want pity or anything like that. I was strong and no matter what anyone said about children of Aphrodite, I was strong.

I didn't know I was a child of Aphrodite at the time. After dad died I was sent to live with my grandfather. I was traumatised but I did my best to suppress the memories of a monster tearing out my father's guts to sell them on the black market.

She wasn't human. Or at least she didn't have humanity. Who kills a man for his organs?

My grandfather was kind to me. His wife had died giving birth to my father and he never remarried. He was a kind man who taught me to always give back. We would volunteer in homeless shelters and he would read to me and other orphaned children at local libraries. He claimed that it would be what grandma would have wanted. She always loved children and making people smile.

I liked making people smile too. I liked feeling the joy they felt. I could always feel emotions. At first it was mostly love and lust and sometimes darker emotions if they were strong enough but by the time I was five I could feel all emotions no matter how little.

I hated it. Mostly because it was my grandfather's death that caused me to learn this new ability.

He was killed in a car crash on the way to pick me up from soccer practice. It had hurt a lot. My heart felt like it had a gaping hole in it.

A hole that will never be filled.

After that a nice man named Holland came to pick me up. He was young and he called himself a satyr. He took me to a camp where I met a man named Chiron. I was there for a couple of hours when they announced that I was the son of Aphrodite.

Everyone kept giving me pitied looks and I hated it. Chiron said I was too young to be here which leads me to this moment.

I waited while Chiron spoke to a dark haired man. He was a little creepy and I could feel darkness in his heart. It was different than other people's darkness though.

He had been hurt badly before. Hurt in a way that would never heal.

There was a bright and warm layer surrounding him that held in the darkness. It felt nice and was filled with love. I could tell he treasured it more than anything. It was beautiful.

Slowly I got up and crept towards them. I kept myself hidden behind the door.

"Please Nico. Just for a month. If it doesn't work out I'll ask someone else. You're the only one who really knows what the boy went through. He lost everyone important to him and he needs a family. You know what that's like."

The man, Nico, sighed. "It's not just my decision though. I have to talk this through with Will and the boys. I can't just take him home."

"Please, they'll understand. This boy is special. He can feel emotions and this camp is filled with negative ones. Will can help him control it but him staying here is hurting him. He's gotten paler and he won't eat or talk to anyone." Chiron begged.

I frowned. I didn't notice it before but I guess I was pretty hungry. My chest was also hurting more than normal. I just thought it was from missing my grandfather but it did feel different.

I missed my grandfather more than anything. I just wanted him back.

I sat on the ground and buried my head in my knees.

Nico groaned. "Fine. I'll take him. Will would probably kill me if I didn't. Where is he?"

"In the back room sleeping on the couch."

I gasped and quickly sprang up. I ran to the couch and lied down on it. I turned away from the door and closed my eyes.

"He's small." Nico commented.

"He's a good kid." Chiron said softly. "I think you and Will will really like him."

I felt cool hands turn me gently and lift me up. It seemed like this man knew how to handle children pretty well.

I blinked my eyes open and came face to face with a olive colored neck and soft black hair. The man smelled nice.

"Shouldn't you wake him?" Chiron asked.

"No, shadow travelling is scary. Besides, I would like to explain it to Will first. He should be the first person he sees. I might scare him."

"I see your self confidence hasn't improved much."

"I have to go. I promised my father I would see him and I would like to return home before he wakes up." Nico mumbled.

The scariest thing happened next. I felt like I was falling and everything felt so dark and cold. I hated it. I gripped onto Nico tightly and squeezed him.

I felt a little disoriented when we landed.

"So you were awake." Nico said softly.

I gasped and looked at him guiltily. He shifted me so my head was buried in his neck.

"My father can be a little terrifying. Keep your head down." Nico commented as he walked. We ended up entering a room. I kept my eyes shut so I couldn't see it. It seemed big and cold though.

Nico spoke to a man with a low voice in a foreign tongue for a long time. His grip on me tightening every couple of minutes. Finally he bid the man goodbye and a soft whoosh sounded.

"He's gone."

I opened my eyes as he put me down on the floor. The room was dark and I couldn't say I liked it here very much.

"It's late. You must be hungry." Nico said motioning with his hands. Instantly a couple of skeletons with food appeared. We sat on the rug in the middle of the floor and ate silently. I looked at the man more closely. He was rather handsome and fit. He had shaggy black hair that was tied into a messy ponytail. He wore all black and grey and the only spark of color on him was a bright golden ring on his ring finger.

On his wrist was a tattoo of a sun with the letters 'L', 'O', 'V', 'E' sketched into it.

"My name is Nico, what's your name?"

I blinked up at him. "Owen."

Nico smiled. It was a genuine smile. He seemed like one of those people who didn't offer his heart to everyone but those he did he loved unconditionally.

He was offering me a place in his heart whether he was aware of it or not.

"Are you married?" I pointed to his ring.

Nico took a phone out of his pocket. He scrolled through for a moment before showing me a picture of him and a blond man taking a selfie. Nico looked a little red but they both looked so happy.

"His name is Will. He's a son of Apollo."

"He's pretty," I smiled at him.

"He's very pretty." Nico agreed. "We've been married for about 5 years now."

"I'm five years old." I told him.

Nico laughed which surprised me since he didn't seem like the kind of person to laugh so carefreely. He probably wasn't at one time but something changed him.

"Is he nice? Do you think he'll like me?" I asked shyly. I wasn't sure why I asked since I didn't know the man very well. I still wanted nothing more than to return to my grandfather but something about this man interested me.

His emotions were so pure. More pure than anyone else's. No matter how much he tried to lie to himself he always knew what he was feeling.

He was a lot like me.

Nico took his phone back and scrolled to a second photo. This one had two green eyed blond boys with matching grins. "These are my sons. They're seven years old. The one on the right is Adrian and the other is Nathaneal."

"They don't look like you very much." I said confused. I thought children were supposed to look like their parents. I look like my father. These boys look a little like Will but the resemblance ended at their bright blond hair. It wasn't even the same shade of blond.

"Of course not. Will and I can't have kids together so we adopted them. They were brought to camp by a satyr and were announced as children of Poseidon. They were three years old though so Chiron asked us to take care of them."

"Like me?" I asked.

Nico nodded. "Like you."

I thought for a second. "Why can't you have kids? Grandpa said that some people are infertile like our old neighbor Mrs Jackie."

Nico shook his head. "Nothing like that. It's just two men cannot create a child together. I mean they'll probably figure out a way in the future but that's besides the point. Only a man and a woman can create a child together. Unless you're a god because they defy logic."

I giggled at that. Nico made me feel better. My heart already stopped hurting.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I nodded and took his hand as skeletons cleaned up our mess. He lifted me up and told me to close my eyes and hold on tight.

Soon we were in darkness again. It wasn't as bad this time. Nico protected me with positive emotions.

We appeared in front of a large mansion like house with a large black gate and big front yard.

"You live here?" I gasped.

Nico nodded. "It was a wedding present from my father. It was a bit much but I know he was just trying to make up for being a bad father. He did scare the previous residence by making the house haunted and driving the price so far down it was in Will and my range. Then he gave me a ridiculous raise."

"Do you work for your dad?" I asked as he put me down.

"You're a pretty sharp kid. Yes I do." Nico told me as he took my hand. We walked into the house slowly and I was hit by how friendly and warm the atmosphere was. "I'm home!" he called.

Soon there was soft running sounds and one of the blond boys appeared. He was dressed in apron and was covered in flour.

"Papa! We're in the kitchen! Nathan and I are making cookies!" the boy said proudly.

"Is that what you're calling these?" a deeper voice chuckled. It was warm though and made me feel less anxious about this.

Adrian pouted and ran back to the kitchen. There was some lighthearted banter.

Nico kneeled down and helped me take my shoes and coat off. He lifted me back up and hesitated. "Um, Will. Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked loudly.

"Can it wait? I'm in the middle of making dinner and monitoring your kids." Will called back.

"We're your kids too daddy!" one of the boys giggled.

"Well, it's pretty important," Nico said carrying me to the kitchen. I saw two little boys rolling out some dough on a table, there was some cookie cutters next to them. At the oven was a tall blond man.

"What's so important that it can't wait until-oh." he turned around and spotted me, "Nico, please tell me you didn't kidnap a child."

Nico looked scared and worried. I didn't like how scared he looked.

I rolled out of his arms and walked up to Will. I glared at him and stepped on his foot. "Don't be mean to Nico! He's a nice person and even though he looks a little scary he isn't!" I yelled at him. I don't know what came over me but I didn't like the scared look on Nico's face.

Will looked stunned. He looked over at Nico and nodded at him. Nico had me wash my hands before placing me next to the other two boys. The two of them walked off somewhere.

"You're cute." one of the boys commented. "Are you a girl or a boy?"

"I'm a boy." I told him. I felt bad for shouting at Will. I don't know what came over me though. I didn't like to see Nico sad. The darkness in his heart started to take over the light and I didn't want that to happen.

"So you think Papa is a nice person?"

I nodded. "He was super nice to me ever since the moment I met him."

The boys grinned.

"I'm Adrian and this is Nathan. We're identical twins, that's why we look alike."

They may look identical but they were very different. Adrian had more darkness in his heart than Nathan did. It was barely noticeable but something happened to Adrian that didn't happen to Nathan. Something that made it harder for him to trust.

Nathan's smile was more carefree while Adrian held back a little.

"My name is Owen."

Nathan grinned. "Well Owen, want to help us make cookies?"

I nodded. I used to help my grandfather so I knew how to do it. I grabbed rolling pin and rolled the dough down. I took a cookie cutter that was shaped like a sun and pressed it against the dough. I carefully removed it and showed it to them.

"That's really good. Now put it on the tray." Adrian told me. He lifted me up so I could reach. I placed it down carefully and beamed at them.

"You guys made so many!" I gasped when I saw how many cookies were already but out.

"I like the butterfly shape." Nathan said holding up the butterfly stencil.

"I like the teddy bear." Adrian pointed at the teddy bear head.

I grinned. "It looks so cool."

"We get to frost them too. Don't worry. You can help. We already made the frosting so all we have to do is wait for it to cook."

We ended up cutting out the rest of the dough. The rest of it, the part to small to be shaped, was rolled into a circle and dropped down.

"Let's tell daddy we're done!" Adrian giggled. He and Nathan both took my hands and we ran around looking for Nico and Will. We found them in what I assumed was the living room. They were in a serious conversation. I didn't want to disturb them but Nathan didn't seem to care.

"We're done making the cookies!" he yelled running and jumping onto Will.

"You made me cookies?" Nico asked. He got up, "Let's get them in the oven." I watched him leave with the twins. I was tempted to follow them but I still felt the need to apologize to Will.

He seemed deep in thought and didn't seem to realize I was there. I tugged at his sleeve and climbed onto his lap.

He looked surprised to see me. I lowered my head. "I'm sorry for shouting at you."

I waited for moment and jumped when I felt him pat my head. I looked up to see him smiling.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I was just surprised to see Nico come home with a child."

I smiled at him. I could tell he loved Nico a lot. He basically radiated it. There was a little darkness in his heart too. I'm guessing he lost a couple people important to him. He also seemed to have a better support system than Nico did and he recovered faster.

"My name is Will. I'm Nico's husband."

"I'm Owen." I told him. I suddenly jumped up. "My cookies! I made cookies, want to see?" I asked shyly.

Will smiled at me. "Sure. Let's go."

I grinned and ran back to the kitchen just in time to see Nico closing the door to the oven. I pouted.

"The oven ate my cookies."

Adrian laughed. "Let's play a game while the cookies bake!"

I looked at Will and Nico shyly.

"How about you boys play by yourselves. I want to talk to Owen for a moment." Nico told them as he lifted me onto the countertop.

The twins hesitated before racing off. I looked at Nico and smiled at him.

"Did you see my cookies? I made a sun and a couple of cats." I told him proudly.

"Yeah. Nathan pointed them out to me." Nico told me.

I smiled. "I like them. Adrian seems like he's hurting though." I told him.

Will and Nico exchanged glances at that. "What makes you say that?"

I explained the darkness in his heart to them. They looked stunned at it but they weren't surprised.

"Adrian had a tough childhood like you did. He tried to shield Nathan from the pain. That's why they're different." Nico explained.

I smiled at him. "Adrian is nice."

"He's a very good boy. Nathan is too."

I smiled and jumped off the counter. I found the twins playing with legos in a different room. I kneeled next to them and we started playing.

xXxXx

After dinner Will made me take a bath with him. He was very tan and covered in freckles. I suspected he wanted to shower with me so he could check my body for injuries without being obvious. I didn't mind though.

I changed my hair and eyes to look like him and giggled. "Look! I'm you now."

He smiled at me. "I heard Aphrodite kids could change their eye color and hair color. How long does it last?"

"I can only keep it for a couple hours." I told him, changing back. "My brothers and sisters at camp told me it's so we can seduce people better." his expression was kind of funny. "What does seduce mean anyways." I asked as he rubbed conditioner in my hair.

"It's a grown up word. You'll learn it when you're ready."

I shrugged. Grandpa told me that a lot too.

Will finished cleaning us and wrapped a towel around his waist before wrapping a towel around me and picking me up.

"Chiron said that if you don't like me you can return me in a month." I said as he dressed me in some of Adrian and Nathan's old pajamas.

Will smiled at me. "I like you and Nico likes you. The twins like you too. Do you like us?"

I nodded. "Nico's nice and you're warm and filled with happiness. Adrian is caring and Nathan is fun. I like all of you."

"There should be no problem then. In a month if we still feel the same then we'll adopt you."

"And if you decide you hate me?" I asked curiously.

"Then Chiron will find a family who will love you." Will said after a minute of hesitation.

I nodded. "Are you leave me like daddy and grandpa did?"

Will shrugged. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Neither does Nico. And if worst come to worse then you'll still have Adrian and Nathan."

I frowned at that. "I don't want to lose anymore people."

Will lifted me up and put me into the bed before crawling under the sheets next to me. "Me neither."

He turned off the lights and kissed me goodnight. He was warm and I found myself curling up to him and drifting off to sleep.

I woke up in between Nico and Will. They were both still asleep so I just laid there. A soft beeping sounded and Will opened his eyes and turned the beeping off. He climbed out of bed and smiled at me.

"Go back to sleep."

I shook my head. He smiled at me and left the room. He returned showered and dressed. "I have work. I'll be back later."

I followed him out of the room and he sat me in front of the TV with a bowl of fresh fruit. "Nico should wake up soon. If you need anything just shake him. I'll be back tonight."

I smiled at him. I liked being here. He kissed my cheek and messed up my hair.

I watched him leave and looked around the house. I liked it here. I could imagine myself growing up with Nico, Will, Adrian and Nathan. I hoped they liked the idea too.

"What are you thinking about?"

I looked up to see Adrian and Nathan enter the room and sit next to me.

"What my life might be like if Nico and Will adopted me."

The twins perked up at that. "They should! I think a little brother would be fun. I would protect you from bullies and teach you everything you need to know." Nathan grinned.

"Plus you make really good cookies." Adrian grinned at me. "Plus you're really cute so daddy will baby you instead of us."

I wasn't sure about how I felt about being babied.

All I knew was this was what I wanted and what my grandfather would have wanted.

I still wish he was here but I know he's looking out for me.


End file.
